Stan goes to great lengths to compete against his rival, Chuck White, and become the new deacon of their church. Meanwhile, Roger's ""temporary problem,"" which Stan tries to use to his advantage, causes all sorts of problems for Steve, Betsy, the rest of the family, and eventually, Stan.

Jonathan Storm

Brian Lowry

As in "Family Guy," MacFarlane and company rely on a fast-moving formula predicated on the mindset that if a joke doesn't work, another will be along momentarily. There's something to that for small fry, but the low batting average and scatological emphasis conspire to narrow the program's appeal. [4 Feb 2005]

Robert P. Laurence

Thomas Conner

The jokes aren't funny, the story is silly (or, really, not silly enough) and the new writers follow the "Family Guy" model so closely they fail to explain any of the characters or even the premise of the show. [28 Apr 2005]

Alessandra Stanley

David Bianculli

It's a bit cruder and ruder [than "Family Guy"], and its family seems unimaginatively similar to Peter Griffith's - except that the dad works for the CIA, and there's a talking alien instead of a talking dog. [28 Apr 2005]

Sid Smith

As with "Guy," the idea is to cram this new animated cartoon series with a laugh a second, or at least a second-by-second attempt. Trouble is, too many of the laughs are so-so, too fleetingly funny or disturbingly potty-mouthed. [4 Feb 2005]

Aaron Barnhart

Sarah Rodman

Although 'Dad' also was created by [Family Guy's Seth] MacFarlane and has even more outlandish characters - a gay alien, a randy German goldfish - it feels like the more conventional (read: less funny) sitcom. [1 May 2005]